I’ve always found those words to be true when it comes to BBQ joints. The best joints always seem to look a little suspect, both in the restaurant itself and the general neighborhood it’s in.

Smoki O’s is definitely no exception. It’s in a neighborhood that’s mostly abandoned buildings and warehouses in the northeast part of St Louis. However, once you go through the door, it all changes. The inside is nice, clean, and neat. The staff is very friendly, and the place just oozes smoke.

After perusing all the options, I settled for what both the staff and other web reviews recommended: an open-faced sandwich combo of both rib tips and snoots.

The rib tips were nothing short of excellent; nicely smoked and tender rib tips with a nice combination of smoke, tang, crunch, and chew that I expect from good ribs. The sauce compliemented the ribs nicely with some more tang and some sweetness, without masking the taste of the meat itself.

The snoots (pig snouts)? These were actually new to me. Imagine an extra-thick pork rind. Now make it crunchy, and slather it in sauce, and you get the idea. I rather liked the cartilaginous taste of the snoots, but the texture was a little novel: I’m glad I had a half order, I would’ve gotten a bit burnt out with a full order. From what I hear, Smoki O’s is one of the better places for snoots; no bristly hairs here!

In any case, I highly recommend Smoki O’s. They’ve obviously got the barbecue process dialed in, and partnered it with a seriously good sauce? The snoots? It depends on how ambitious and adventurous you are.

Random Post

ince I’ve basically exhausted the list of Diners in the Upper Valley, I figured I should review some of the other breakfast joints. I’ll start with one of my favorites: Dana’s by the Gorge in Quechee, VT (umm, by the gorge…). Anyone who regularly dines with me knows that my favorite breakfast items are, roughly in order, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, and waffles. So usually when I’m visiting a place for the first time I’ll have one of these three items. However, Dana’s was different, since one menu item jumped out at me: the Vermont Rarebit (pictured at right). It’s basically an eggs Benedict dish, with the hollandaise sauce replaced with a Welsh-rarebit style cheddar sauce. Very delicious, and I seem to order this 90% of the time I’m there. And, in season, I visit there often enough that they are starting to recognize me.